In responding to the ghastly terrorist attack
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (and the continuing conflicts in the
Middle East), Americans need to know more
about Islamic religion, culture, and history in order to be able to distinguish
between the guilty (a renegade terrorist organization) and the innocent
(the vast majority of Muslims in North America and around the world), and
to understand the reasons for the anger and frustration with American policy
overseas that Osama bin Laden and other anti-American Muslim militants
have tapped and exploited.

In particular, Americans must avoid demonizing
Muslims in general as "the enemy" or as an "evil empire." The links
below show that Islam is not inseparable from anti-American militancy,
and that most Muslims stand for peace.

N.B. The
views expressed in the documents linked below are not necessarily mine
or those of Washington and
Lee University, nor are they meant to represent the full range of positions
on these issues. They were selected for being clear and (more or
less) temperately expressed, or as likely to help readers understand the
views of Muslims and other interested parties. -Tim
Lubin [ South
Asia Links ]

For statements by U.S. Muslim groups condemning
the attacks, and general information on Islam:

The
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan was founded
in 1977 by a woman named Meena. RAWA fought the Russian invaders of Afghanistan
and their local client regime. Meena was assassinated at the age of thirty
in 1987. It has also been fighting the fundamentalists, including the current
ruling Taliban group in Kabul, Afghanistan. Aside from concern
for the lives and livelihood of innocent Afghan civilians, RAWA probably
also expects that a US attack may strengthen local support for the Taliban
government. [ See theRAWA
website. ]
- Vincent K Pollard, University of Hawai'i at Manoa (reproduced from H-ASIA)SEE ALSO:
"RAWA
questions Bush's war threats", by Prof. Vincent Pollard
(Ka
Leo O Hawaii, 21 Sept. 2001)